a record of one student's battle to complain to a large group of strangers

Monday, 12 October 2009

First night

Well, the first day/night here was really fun. And the fact that I can still look at a computer screen this morning is promising - I've been up since 7am, for Pete's sake. Haven't left my room yet (it was too cold to get out of bed, as I left my window open, so I read. Good times, I love it).

Met all of the people in my house yesterday, and we spent much of the day (after kicking the parental units out, naturally) sitting in the kitchen with tea and biscuits and just chatting. Then our 'Mums' and 'Dads' turned up. :\

Don't get me wrong, the system of second- and third-years helping Freshers and guiding them through the first week or so is a good one. It just seems a bit Freudian for a Psychology student to feel comfortable with. And trust me, Freud would've gone into some sort of fit.

Each house gets two Mums and two Dads. Ours were very nice, and brought us presents (a mug, bus timetables, a pencil and a personal alarm) as well as sweets and drinks, which immediately won everyone over. When in doubt, just bribe people with candy. Always works.

Then we had a fire and safety talk. What was it about, you ask? Well, I have no clue. I was sitting right at the back and the guys suddenly lost their microphone halfway through the talk, so all I got was something about starting fires and putting condoms over smoke alarms. Thanks for the ideas there, guys. Wouldn't have thought of those without your help.

After the talk, there was a barbecue. Well, I say barbecue. We were in a large restaurant hall, and on one side, the kitchens had burgers. This was the only reason people came to the talk, I think; so that they didn't have to cook for themselves on the first night. It was like a bloody stampede. One moment, you're sitting there craning to hear about why foreigners shouldn't be allowed to use ostrich burners (seriously, I have no idea what he was saying - this was the closest approximation I could get, having heard 'foreign students' and 'burners'. I added the ostrich bit myself), and then before you realise he's stopped talking, everyone in the hall is sprinting in the direction of the barbecues.

Gotta love that mob mentality.

But anyway, after that we walked into town. As my parents follow this blog, I can't in good conscience describe everything that happened. Needless to say, it was quiet evening of contemplation, chess and a single glass of wine each. That took half an hour to queue for. Seriously - drunk people in queues are bloody idiotic. You'd think that no one knew how to form an orderly line. It's all shouting, pushing and queue-jumping. Queue-jumping! Doesn't that still carry the death penalty in some areas of the UK?

Freshers Ball tonight, and a Psychology ice-breaker this afternoon, which is something to look forward to. It'll be nice to meet people from my course.

I have to go and investigate now. There's an odd rhythmic sound outside my window, like someone's beating some of that card they use to make thunder in theatres with a sock full of jellied eels. Possibly a fisherman?

Hm. Should probably go and grab some breakfast, though. I hear eating is a promoted idea in this day and age. I'm thinking full English, with a pot of coffee and a copy of the Times. I will be lucky to get a slice of burnt toast and a glass of tap water, methinks.

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About Me

It has been brought to my attention that I have many opinions and, as such, I have decided to inflict these on the Internet. This is my nth attempt at blogging, so let's hope it's as much of a Hindenburg as the previous attempts so I can go back to something approaching a life.